Chapter Thirty: Ivalia

Wings outstretched, extending motes of frost, Ash wasn’t much faster than before. What the wings did do was emit hoarfrost, slowing any homunculi that approached. Pulling on his elan, he drew more elar and, with the now more manageable wooden soldiers, he easily got through them.

The closer they got to him, the more ice coated their forms. Some of them were frozen outright; Ash crashed into those, shattering them into chunks of frozen wood that broke when they crashed to the ground with a fracturing sound that echoed across the stone.

A wooden sea of soldiers approached him like an oncoming wave over a rock. None touched him, for every time they tried, his wings would pulse, and vivid frost crystals would cover the wooden soldiers.

He achieved the gray flag in no time at all. Walking through a legion of ice sculptures, he planted the flag in front of Amalia, who was eyeing his wings.

“Not quite what I imagined, but as I said, elar is different for everyone. You have succeeded.”

Lilith walked up to his side, face looking like a smug cat.

“Am I ready, then, for this exam?”

“As ready as you’ll ever be. Come, it is time for sleep. We reach Ivalia tomorrow.”

____________

Lilith walked beside him in her human form. She never strayed too far from him, but when he tried to hold her hand or pick her up, she would glare and hiss.

The Vynterium mountains were ahead of them. They loomed over all, jagged stone-like layers of darkness set into a canvas of white, blue, and silver. Dawning sunlight casts subtle shadows over the mountains, creating an awe-inspiring image.

Lilith sent him an image of her flying at the top of those peaks. Ash smiled down at her, adjusting his sword at his side.

“One day, we’ll make it happen.”

Lilith nodded as if the matter had been decided, and that was that.

Ivalia was a town founded at the base of the mountain, just before the path that led to the valley Wyrmhaven had been built upon from the bones of a great dragon.

Ivalia was far larger than any town he had yet to see. With Brilehaven being the only other town he had seen, that likely wasn’t hard to accomplish.

Buildings of every color and architecture dotted the landscape. Paved roads crisscrossed in a pattern he couldn’t discern, and people of all races bustled about.

He saw dwarves, elves, half-elves, and a visenium!

She was willowy, with nearly translucent skin and liquid silver flowing through her like visible water. Her hair was reminiscent of storm clouds, and her eyes were like lightning bolts.

“Got a staring problem? I can fix that.” She flourished a dagger, lightning eyes narrowing.

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“Sorry,” Ash muttered, averting his gaze.

She scowled, walking past them.

Eventually, they came to a simple two-story dark wood building. A simple sign outside read in white lettering: Adventurers Guild.

Amalia, Lilith, and Ash entered to raucous noise.

“What do you mean, only three silver! Those goblins are worth way more!”

A human woman with chestnut hair and dark brown eyes looked bored as if she had grown regularly accustomed to this routine.

“For the fourth time, it doesn’t matter what the goblins are worth. The job was to clear out the den and kill the shaman. You were asked to bring its head and staff back as proof, and you didn’t. As a result, your reward was halved. This isn’t the guild’s fault…sir.”

She added the last bit as an afterthought. It didn’t sound like a respectful affectation.

The man addressing her scowled. His face looked like an ugly dog, as if it had taken too many punches.

He scooped up his three silver, growled a vulgar word, and walked away.

“Ash!”

Ash looked around and grinned widely when he found the source of the voice.

Rosalia bounded up to them, blue eyes bright.

She threw herself at Ash, hugging him tight.

“You’re here! Thank the light; you’re safe!”

She smells like flowers by a stream, Ash thought, awkwardly patting her back.

“Yeah, of course, I’m safe. Why wouldn’t I be? Hey, I have someone I want you to meet!”

Rosalia pulled away from him, her smile still wide. She glanced over to Lilith, who was looking at her curiously.

“You do? Oh! Who’s this cutie?”

Lilith’s left eye twitched. She sent Ash an image of her roaring fiercely. She didn’t communicate with words yet, but her thoughts were clear. Dragon’s were not cute. They were powerful and fiercer than any predator.

Ash smiled, telling her to be nice. She turned her nose upward.

“This is Lilith. Amalia’s little sister. She was staying with relatives, and Drakosia was the meet-up, so Amalia could take her with us.”

“That’s why you guys went there, huh? It’s very nice to meet you, Lilith!”

Rosalia knelt low, closing her eyes as she widened her smile, holding out a hand.

Lilith leaned forward and took a big sniff before shrugging.

“Oh, well…” Rosalia withdrew her hand, unsure what to do.

“Where’s Nick and Will?” Ash inquired, changing the subject.

Rosalia flicked a hand,

“Oh, they went to fight some goblins in a cave.”

Ash arched a brow,

“Really? You three don’t have techniques yet. Seems like a bad idea.”

Rosalia shook her head, red curls swaying.

“No, not really. They’re just portering! We’ve learned so much while we were here.” She glanced at Amalia, who was scowling.

“You should be careful who you choose to learn from, miss Va’Sear. If you’re not careful, you’ll ruin your foundation.”

Rosalia held up a hand,

“What else should we have done? Can we talk about this at a table, please? I already have one.” She pointed at an empty table in the corner where she had her backpack.

The group sat down, and Rosalia continued,

“There was only so much training we could do. We met a real adventuring party! They escorted some potential students of Wyrmhaven here, and are helping them get ready for the exam. Their leader, Vaughn, offered to help us out too! He’s taught us so much!”

Rosalia’s eyes were sparkling,

“For example, we learned about aspects! And how to adapt absorbed elar to our cores! We aren’t anywhere close to bronze rank, but we got a real boost.”

Amalia’s scowl deepened every second,

“Teaching should be done by those who know better, not random adventurers.”

Rosalia’s sparkling eyes changed, swimming with blue fire.

“Oh? Well, do you see any professional teachers around here willing to help? Wyrmhaven’s entrance exam doesn’t start for another two weeks, and for all we knew, you were dead. Forgive us for taking assistance where we could find it.”

Amalia didn’t look happy, but she said nothing. Rosalia nodded curtly,

“The only thing they didn’t help us with is techniques. We know what they are, but they said we should wait until someone more qualified to teach one was available.”

“So they had some sense, at least,” Amalia muttered.

“We also got tons of combat experience and learned about dungeons! I am so going to ace this test.”

Rosalia’s expression turned self-satisfied as she leaned back.

“So, anything new with you, Ash?”

He was about to respond when a cultured, slightly nasally voice cut in like a knife.

“So the mixed blood has friends after all. Be careful, mixed blood; just because someone’s willing to talk to trash like you doesn’t make you any less trash.”